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Welcome to the Neurotrauma Impact Science Laboratory (NISL) at the University of Ottawa, Canada. Our mandate is in the furthering of knowledge with respect to head impact trauma, specifically the underlying mechanism of mild traumatic brain injury (concussion), and to contribute in a meaningful way to decrease all types of head injury in sport. It is our vision that head injuries will become a rare and inconsequential part of athletic and leisure activities.

The NISL is equipped with free-drop, guided twin-wire, monorail drop rig, and linear impactor machines for the dynamic testing and measurement of direct head impacts. Material conditioning equipment such as an industrial freezer, an isotemp incubator, and an ultraviolet curing system along with quasistatic measurement systems are also used in the NISL. Research at the NISL incorporates finite element analysis of the adult brain through the University College Dublin Brain Trauma Model (UCDBTM). Images of all principle research and testing devices are available from our Equipment section.

For further information on the current research being performed at the NISL, please refer to the Projects section of our website.